Trash fashion is clothing made from trash or recyclable materials. In 2015, I designed two dresses for a trash fashion show, hosted by the organization Trashion Fashion. The dresses were woven from plastic bags of many colors. Since then, I have researched more about trash fashion and pulled together a collection of designs on my Trashmagination Pinterest board about trash fashion. I have learned that plastic bags are probably the most common material used in trash fashion designs, and now I am intrigued with the idea of using a more original material for a future design.

You can listen to my podcast episode about Trash Fashion in this YouTube video. It originally aired in April 2017.

Hosting a trash fashion show is a great idea for community events, especially around Earth Day. Listen to this podcast for tips on how to run a successful event. Below are resources to help.

Here’s a link to my blog about sewing a fedora from lemonade crystal powder tubes.

Weaving the bodice of a trash fashion dressTrashmagination Checklist – Recommendations of Activities to Try Based on this Episode

1. Look for a Trash Fashion Show near you – These are especially popular around Earth Day.
2. Organize a Trash Fashion Show – This is a great way to engage your kids, your students and your community.
3. Go beyond the obvious answer – Most trash fashion outfits tend to use similar materials, but some people really expand the boundaries by finding new materials. I hope that inspires you to seek a solution that outside the obvious in some area of your life.

Materials Often Incorporated into Trash Fashion Designs

Plastics

• plastic shopping bags & mesh vegetable bags
• CDs, DVDs, tape from video and music cassettes
• all kinds of flexible plastic food packaging such as juice pouches and chip bags
• six-pack rings
• plastic caps
• plastic bottles and cutlery
• vinyl records
• vinyl advertising banners and political lawn signs
• technotrash (parts of computers and phones)
• construction fencing and caution tape
• photographic slides and negatives
• small plastic toys & stuffed animals, including plastic dolls
• lids of dried up markers
• intravenous IV medication bottle caps
• straws

Metals

• bottle caps
• metal cutlery
• metal pull tabs from soda cans & pieces of the cans themselves cut into various shapes
• spent shotgun shells
• keys
• wire (often covered with colorful plastic or rubber)
• aluminum pans (tinfoil pans)

Paper and Cardboard

• cardboard egg cartons and boxes
• magazines, books, maps and newspapers
• playing cards
• tea bags
• programs from theater shows that are now over
• coffee cup insulation sleeves

Rubber and Cork

• inner tubes from tires
• balloons
• hoses
• wine corks

Fabric

• men’s ties
• seat belts

Other Fibers

• burlap rice bags
• nature items like pine cones, banana peels, orange peels, dried avocado peels

Trash Fashion Shows Around the World

Australia / New Zealand

• Wearable Art Mandurah (western Australia)
• New Zealand – http://trashfashionkaikoura.co.nz/
• Tasmania – Remade by Interweave Arts

Eastern United States

• Charlotte, North Carolina – https://charlotteseen.com/contributors/recyclable-designers/
• Charlotte, North Carolina – Opera Recycles and Paper Dreams at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art
• Hartford, New York and Washington DC – https://www.trashionfashion.org
• Cambridge, Massachusetts – http://trashion.mit.edu/
• Recycled Runway, Corning, New York – http://www.earts.org/recycled-runway
• Orlando, Florida – http://www.cityoforlando.net/publicworks/keep-orlando-beautiful/trash-2-trends/

Central United States

• Bloomington, Indiana – http://bloomingtontrashion.weebly.com/
• Austin, Texas – http://www.trashmakeover.com/

Western United States

• Bend, Oregon – https://rubbishrenewed.com
• Portland, Oregon – http://junktofunk.org/ (on hiatus)
• Portland, Oregon – Shift by the Right Brain Initiative
• Santa Fe, New Mexico – https://www.recyclesantafe.org/
• RAGS Wearable Art Show and Sale – Fife, Washington – https://www.ywcapiercecounty.org/wearable-art-sale
• Port Townsend Wearable Art –  https://www.ptwearableart.com/
• Kinetic Couture, Eureka, California – http://kineticgrandchampionship.com/kinetic-kouture

Europe

• Ireland – https://www.capartscentre.com/programmes/trash-fashion/
• Ireland – https://www.facebook.com/trashnfashion/
• Ireland – https://boijunkkouture.com/
• Macedonia – https://www.facebook.com/Trash-Fashion-Macedonia-365164750179771/
• Scotland – Junk Couture – https://junkkouture.co.uk/
• Denver, Colorado – Trash Fashion show as part of PrideFest – first one held in June 2018

Trash Fashion Designers

• Kristen Alyce – http://kristenalyce.com/, http://garbagegoneglam.com/
• Mary Ambrose and Paul Thomas – https://choose901.com/memphis-fashion-week-recycled/
• Sina Basila – https://www.sinabasila.co/
• Jacq Chorlton, Funkydory – http://www.funkydory.com.au/wearable-art.html
• Malou Cordery – http://maloustyle.com/
• Marina Debris – http://www.washedup.us/trashion.html – featured at Smithsonian Washed Ashore project
• FemmeGod – http://www.femmegod.com
• Nic Griffin – http://www.nicgriffin.com/
• Julionne Johnson – http://ripdesign.weebly.com/
• Nancy Judd from Recycle Runway – http://recyclerunway.com/
• Emily Kramer – http://www.emilykramerdesigns.com/
• Outi Les Pyy – https://www.instagram.com/outilespyy/
• Marion Macedo, Moda en Papel – Bolivian designer, https://www.facebook.com/marion.macedo
• Katrina Orsini – https://www.instagram.com/conceptualcouture/
• Valerie Pache – http://www.valeriepache.fr – made from paraglider sails
• Francis Sollano – http://francissollano.com/
• Robin Worley – http://www.hautetrash.org/rayona-visqueen-robin-worley/

Cool Video about Finnish trash fashion artist Outi Les Pyy

See the info about her Nespresso Dress

Show Details

• Script for this podcast episode about trash fashion (not a transcript but gives the main ideas)
• The Trashmagination podcast theme music is Kitchen from the Marian Circle Drum Brigade.